5 Yoga Poses for Core Strength and Toned Abs

You may have heard about the mental strength and endurance that yoga can bring to your workouts, but did you know you can get rock-hard abs from regularly practicing yoga? When you seek out yoga for core strength, you will see changes to your body that you haven’t experienced from any other exercise.

Yoga for Strength Training

Before trying yoga, you may assume it is a relaxing, low-impact exercise. While yoga is for everyone, welcoming all levels of fitness and including modifications in each flow, you can find more intense sessions in hot power yoga or toning sessions that use weights.

Yoga Is a Workout, Too

You can get your sweat on during your yoga poses for core strength, just like any other exercise. By holding challenging poses or moving swiftly through a vinyasa flow, your body pushes to the limit. And you will see the results of your hard work during your yoga practice when you stay consistent and continually progress.

Gentle Exercise

Are you looking to practice yoga for abs or to strengthen key muscle groups but have some physical limitations? Yoga is one of the most adaptable exercises that is easy on the body. If yoga poses for core strength are too challenging to achieve, you can modify the movement or use props to assist in completing the exercise.

If you are working through an injury, you can practice yoga while waiting to heal and strengthen the supporting muscles in the meantime.

Factor in Resistance

You may experience increasing your heart rate through running, weight lifting, hiking, or other forms of vigorous exercise. With yoga for abs, you can build strength through resistance.

Per Healthline, “Many of the postures in yoga qualify as isometric exercises, in that you’re holding a muscle contraction in a fixed position for a period of time without changing the length of the muscle.” Holding a pose is one of the best ways to tone your muscles while focusing on breathing and meditation.

Yoga Is for Everybody

Are you ready to make exercise a priority in your life? Even if you rarely include exercise in your routine, yoga for core strength is a great place to start. No matter your fitness level, you can find a yoga session that is right for you.

Starting off with restorative yoga will help you learn basic movements. And then, you can watch yourself progress and gain confidence as you reach levels you never thought possible.

Yoga Poses to Help Build Core Strength

Consider the yoga poses for core strength that may be familiar to you and how they can benefit your body. Understanding the benefits of these poses will help you focus on the targeted muscles during the pose, maximizing your potential. Let us walk you through some of our favorite yoga poses and how they can strengthen your body.

Listen to the instructor as they tell you how to draw your abdomen in toward your spine. You will see better results in practicing yoga for core strength when you successfully position your body as instructed. A recent yoga study revealed, “Variation in core muscle firing patterns depends on the trunk and pelvic positions in these poses.”

You can find tutorials for several of these poses in our class catalog, where you can access yoga for core strength from your home, hotel room, office, or beach.

Plank

Lie face down on the mat and lift your body so you’re on your toes and hands. Place your shoulders directly over your wrists, gaze between your hands, and draw your abdominal muscles toward your spine. Then, keep your body straight and glutes tucked in as you hold the pose.

Warrior 3

Stand up and bend your torso to a 90-degree angle, reaching out your arms in line with your head and lifting one leg back to form a straight line from your leg to your arms.

Boat/Half Boat

Sit down with your legs in front. Raise the legs to a 45-degree angle with toes pointed and reach your arms forward, parallel to the floor.

Downward Dog Abs

Start in a downward dog position, with your feet and hands on the floor and your tailbone elevated. Then lift one leg back and bend it forward toward your nose. Return the leg to the floor, pushing your weight into your heels. Repeat the yoga for abs movement 10x per leg.

Gentle Yoga for Toned Abs

Reading about yoga poses can feel overwhelming. Know that our Powerflow On The Go instructors will set your mind at ease. They will guide you through the movements, helping you feel comfortable and confident.

Yoga Modifications

You can count on your instructor to offer modifications throughout the yoga session. Being ready to practice yoga for core strength doesn’t mean you will be a pro at each pose. Don’t sweat it! One of the benefits of Powerflow On The Go is being able to practice yoga from the privacy of your home with no one around to judge you.

Listen to Your Body

Listen to your body as you enter a vinyasa flow and move from one movement to another. If something doesn’t feel right, do not push it. The best part about yoga is how frequently the instructor will remind you to be in tune with your body.

Breathe through each movement and hold the variation of the pose that feels right to you. Yoga for core strength will accommodate your needs. There is no race to how quickly your body can achieve a position.

Consistency Is Key

Prioritize your yoga for core strength sessions into your routine. You will see progress when you get back on the mat a few times each week. Your body will access flexibility and strength that slowly builds. Before you know it, you’ll be able to achieve a pose that you never thought possible.

Find Your Flow

You’ll be happy to know that the varying types of yoga practices make it easy for you to find the sessions that fit your needs the most. Find your flow by trying out yoga for core strength and then moving into restorative yoga or meditative sessions.

There is no one right way to practice yoga. You can implement a variety of sessions into your schedule, or you can find your favorite instructor and stick with one type of yoga class.

Yoga Is More than Mental

Practice yoga for core strength and enjoy the benefits of yoga beyond the spiritual and mental connection. You can have it all when you set yoga as a priority in your life.

It’s time to practice the self-care you need by signing up for Powerflow On The Go. Stop wondering how yoga for core strength may supplement your other workouts, and try it out for yourself. Contact us today to start your free trial and build your confidence and muscles through yoga. 

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